The Genius of Martial Arts (1)
After confirming my position, I approached the still-unconscious Director Kim and gently shook him awake.
“Director Kim, wake up!”
“Ugh… mmph…”
Kim slowly sat up, blinking as he looked around.
“…Secretary Seo. Where are we again…?”
“…This place.”
I gave him a rough explanation.
After the hunchback old man shoved us through a spatial rift, the first thing I saw was this. It looked like a medieval China world where martial artists actually existed.
“…I’ve had so many things happen that I don’t even know what’s what anymore.”
“You’re telling me.”
“It would be nice if this entire thing was just a dream…”
Director Kim’s face looked ten years older than it should.
“…I don’t know if that’s good news or bad. Having no talent or ability at all—maybe it’s better that we weren’t caught by those monsters. Or maybe we were just abandoned…”
“….”
I didn’t know either. In my past life I was just a clueless herb gatherer.
In this life, I’d survived three days with others without much effort—thanks to my regression ability. But that didn’t make me anything special.
“For now, we can’t stay in this alley forever. Let’s go out.”
“…Yeah, all right.”
Director Kim and I walked out into Seogyeong-seong’s bustling main district. The streets were packed with people just like modern cities.
“Ugh… I don’t understand a word. Everyone’s speaking some Chinese dialect, and why are they staring at us like that?”
“Probably because of the clothes we’re wearing.”
I’d burned my original shirt as firewood for Director Kim’s send-off party, so now I was left in just my undershirt underneath. Director Kim wore completely out-of-place hiking clothes that made him stand out.
“…This is a problem. By the way, Secretary Seo—do you know any Chinese?”
“Yes, luckily I took Chinese lessons. It sounds like southern Chinese dialects. We should be able to communicate somehow.”
“Oh my… that’s a miracle!”
Of course, it was a lie. This world’s language differed completely from Chinese except for the fact that it evolved from oracle bone script into characters like Chinese. Even with simplified or traditional characters, none of the regional dialects worked here.
‘In my past life I spent two months begging and clinging to nearby beggars just to learn basic communication…’
Those days were over now.
“We’ll need new clothes since these are eye-catching. How do we even buy them? These clothes probably won’t pass here.”
I grinned and answered.
“Money won’t work, but people still need medicine.”
I entered the nearest herb shop and sold a bunch of basic herbs—hemostatic grass, fever-reducing grass, heat-clearing grass—ones I’d gathered in Deungsunhyang. They were the low-grade variety but enormous, several times larger than normal, because they’d never been touched by human hands and were packed with spiritual energy. I came out with a decent sum.
“Haha, Secretary Seo. Your talent works here too. Did you get a lot?”
“…Something like that.”
But the shop owner’s money looked a little suspicious. ‘They’re really squeezing us.’
Because our clothes looked odd. If the herbs were that big, we should have gotten more. If we’d gotten less, we might not have received anything at all. Still, it was enough to buy decent clothes.
I immediately went to the cheapest-looking clothing shop nearby and bought two sets of old garments. We changed into plain clothes and stepped back outside.
‘The prices are outrageous.’
It was four times higher than my calculations. That meant I had to spend everything I had.
“S-So then what now, Secretary Seo?”
“Just wait a moment, Director. I think I’ll need to sell the herbs a few more times.”
I went to a different herb shop this time and sold them again. Even though our clothes still looked suspicious, the owner didn’t discount, but I still bargained hard for a better price.
I returned to the clothing shop, bought nicer ones this time, then went to another herb shop and sold more. This time the owner accepted without haggling because he saw my clothes.
I bought silk garments next and walked the main street of Seogyeong-seong until I found a very large herb shop. I sold a single large Ginseng root.
“Ah, esteemed customer. It’s rare to see something like this in our shop…”
The owner bowed deeply and took the Ginseng with both hands, wearing silk.
“To my eyes, this is at least a few hundred years old. Even if it’s not, you should still receive fifteen taels of silver…”
“Really! In fact, fifteen taels is the minimum!”
“All right, take it.”
I accepted the fifteen silver ingots the owner handed me, bowed, and left.
“Hah… amazing. Secretary Seo. Is it over?”
“Yeah, for now.”
There were still several more Ginseng roots left, and the one I’d just sold was the smallest.
After buying the silk clothes for Director Kim, I went to the government office, bribed the clerk, and obtained an official seal. After buying a small house and land on the outskirts, only one silver ingot remained.
“From today, we live here. We’ve secured basic housing, and I’ll teach you how to read and write, Director.”
“Thank you, Secretary Seo. No, wait…”
He sounded a little embarrassed.
“Now that we’re not company employees anymore, calling me Secretary Seo doesn’t feel right. What should I call you…?”
“…Just call me by my name.”
“Thank you, Seo Eun-hyun.”
I chose the name and discussed our future plans with him.
“I managed to get this much money right away by selling the herbs I gathered in the forest. When the herbs run out, we’ll have problems with food and shelter. We need to find a way to earn money.”
“How do we continue living… Well, maybe buy silver with the herbs and do business?”
That made sense. With a solid starting capital, Director Kim’s business talents could support us for now.
‘But that’s not enough.’
Since I’d already regressed… If we were going to aim higher, that was it.
‘Director Kim is a martial arts genius.’
He’d mastered several low-grade techniques on the streets in just a few months, become a powerful warrior, then learned high-grade skills until he reached the top of the Yeon Kingdom’s martial world.
If I taught him high-grade martial arts from the beginning, what would happen?
‘I could accelerate the birth of the Undisputed Blade by thirty years…!’
And I’d be there to catch every falling bean.
“Director, this world has real martial arts and martial sects.”
“Mm…!”
“But if we just do business naively in a place like that, we might get swept up in the competition between martial sects. At the very least, we should learn some defensive martial arts.”
“That makes sense…”
He seemed a bit excited.
“H-However, martial arts are strictly for outsiders, right? How could we learn them easily?”
At the word “martial arts,” Director Kim’s eyes lit up, using terms straight from martial arts novels.
“You received fifteen taels just for one Ginseng root, didn’t you? There must be a way to solve this with money, right?”
“Hah…!”
“Of course, first you need to learn to read and write.”
“Hmph…”
For the next three months, I sold one more herb to cover our living expenses while teaching Director Kim language and characters.
He’d fallen into this strange world, grieving the loss of his sect, so he studied with everything he had.
At the same time, I taught him the basic Circulation Technique from my past life—called it a health exercise.
And three months later…
“Lately my lower abdomen feels tingly. Even sitting at home I suddenly feel full of energy…”
‘Amazing.’
I could see Director Kim’s tremendous achievement.
The Circulation Technique was the most basic inner energy method—focused on feeling the energy in your dantian rather than stacking it.
Ordinary people took eight months. Director Kim did it in three.
‘He’s already mastered the Circulation Technique.’
At the same time I felt a flicker of self-reproach. It had taken me thirteen months in my past life. I was far less talented than an ordinary person. The gap would widen dramatically as we moved to higher skills.
“…Now that we can read and speak to some degree, let’s look for a sect to join.”
“All right. Haha, now we’re going to learn martial arts!”
Over three months I’d taught him characters and speech while researching the martial sects of Seogyeong-seong.
“There are seven important sects. The Cut Demon Sect, the Seven Mysteries Temple, the Slanted Bird Pavilion, the Seven Mystery Gate, the Fang Wolf Group, the Dark Night Society, and the Fighting Dragon Fortress are known as the Seven Great Sects of Seogyeong-seong.”
I explained each one.
The Cut Demon Sect, Seven Mysteries Temple, Slanted Bird Pavilion, and Seven Mystery Gate were orthodox sects. The Fang Wolf Group, Dark Night Society, and Fighting Dragon Fortress were famous heretical ones. In Seogyeong-seong they were called the Four Stars and Three Demons.
The Cut Demon Sect focused on sword and saber techniques, the Seven Mysteries Temple on Buddhist arts, the Slanted Bird Pavilion on information organizations like the Hao Gate, and the Seven Mystery Gate on ancient, wide-ranging martial arts.
The Fang Wolf Group emphasized fierce sparring, the Dark Night Society practiced stealth and body techniques learned from illegal dealings, and the Fighting Dragon Fortress focused on bare-hand combat.
“Director, which sect do you like best?”
No matter which one I chose, Director Kim’s talent would make him succeed.
He chose without hesitation.
“The Cut Demon Sect! It has to be! For a gentleman it’s sword techniques, for a man it’s saber techniques!”
‘In my past life I also chose saber on my first technique. Looks like history repeats.’
A good choice.
The Undisputed Blade’s rebirth in this life too.
I headed to the Cut Demon Sect with Director Kim.
The main branch was located east of Seogyeong-seong. Inside a large estate, hundreds of loud battle cries echoed from training grounds. At the gate stood two armed guards in sword and saber attire.
“Halt! What brings you to the main branch?”
The guards eyed our silk clothes warily.
“This gentleman is our… elder brother. We’ve come to learn the Cut Demon Sect’s martial arts after hearing its reputation.”
“Hmph…”
The gatekeeper’s gaze turned to Director Kim. He was a middle-aged man with a half-bald head and a protruding belly.
“…I’m sorry, but at your age it’s unlikely you’ll learn martial arts.”
“Haha, still, let’s at least have a conversation with the senior. Even simple defensive techniques would do.”
I smiled gently.
In reality I’d said defensive, but within a few months the other side would be begging him to learn advanced techniques instead.
The guards exchanged glances, sighed, and opened the gate.
After some time we met the Cut Demon Hall’s Hall Master, He Baek.
“So, you want to learn defensive martial arts…”
“Yes, if it’s possible, the best defensive one possible…”
I handed He Baek the silk pouch. Fifteen of the twenty silver ingots from selling all the Ginseng were inside.
He Baek opened the pouch, checked the ingots, and coughed.
“Hah… I’ll accept you as an outer disciple. If you want, I can teach you a couple of inner branch techniques. But you’ll be treated strictly as an outer disciple. No special treatment even if you enter the main branch. Also… only one of you will be accepted.”
“Ugh…”
“Hmph…”
Director Kim’s face darkened at the harsh treatment and he started to stand, but I lightly pressed his shoulder and stopped him, bowing to He Baek.
“We thank the Hall Master. Even this is enough. Our elder brother will enter as the outer disciple.”
“Hah, then come to the outer disciples’ hall after a while.”
He Baek left us with a superior air.
Director Kim looked stunned. “U-Eun-hyun. If only I learn martial arts, what’s the point? If I’d known it would cost this much I would’ve gone to another sect…”
“No. It might actually be better if Director learns martial arts.”
“No, you’re young and much more suitable for martial arts…”
“…I’ve never been good at exercise. I’ll support you with the remaining silver. This is my role. You just do your part, Director.”
“But…”
Director Kim’s reluctant expression hardened.
“…All right. If you say so, I’ll do my best to learn martial arts and help you. …Having proper techniques on this old body would be nice.”
“Trust yourself.”
“Thank you…”
Thus, Director Kim became an outer disciple of the Cut Demon Sect and gained a few outer techniques plus three inner ones as a main branch entry benefit.
And seven months later.
The Cut Demon Sect was in complete chaos.